Indiana Jones and the Lair of the Horned Serpent
by Mark Renshaw
Summary: A field expedition with his students turns into a life or death race against time when Indiana Jones stumbles upon one of the greatest hidden secrets of all time.
1. Chapter 1

_This adventure takes place several months after the end of World War II._

Indiana Jones paused before the doorway taking one last moment to check his gear. He felt nervous. It had seemed like a good idea at the time but now felt he would rather open the Arc of the Covenant again than open this door.

He had to admit to himself it felt good to be wearing his 'uniform' again. Although he hadn't been on a field trip for a number of years now he kept himself in shape. Still, there had been a great sense of relief when his fedora fit snugly on his head, his brown leather jacket slipped over his shoulders and, thankfully, his pants fastened without having to suck in the gut!

Then there were the essential accessories. There were numerous small pouches and pockets all over his person. These he filled with powders, small tools and tiny vials filled with different coloured liquids. Each item he knew from personal experience had numerous uses, from cleaning up artefacts to saving his life.

For the larger problems he inevitably encountered in his line of work there was his trusty bullwhip which dangled loosely over his right hip, while on his left hung a holstered Webley MK VI pistol.

Even with these comfort factors he still questioned why he had agreed to do this. Pressing close to the wooden panel he listened closely. There was no sound. Somehow this made him feel worse. Taking one last deep breath to steady himself he gently pushed. The door swung silently open. After a brief pause, he stepped inside.

At first there was silence. Indy walked cautiously to the centre of the room.

"Oh sir, you look so….different! It's weird!"

The outburst had come from Jackie Philips, one of his students. The comment brought the rest of his class out of their stunned silence.

"Sir is that a gun?" said one.

"Wow a whip, what do you use that for?" asked another.

This was followed by a chorus of questions, comments and even a couple of wolf whistles. Indy smiled nervously. He tried to answer their questions, get them to calm down but they were on a roll, too young, too eager to stop.

Suddenly he stood up tall, not realising until now he had been slouching, his shoulders hunched down, his whole demeanour and body language had been none threatening. It was, he realised, how he held himself when he was the teacher Here and now however in these clothes he wasn't a college professor, he was Indiana Jones the world renowned, respected and in some quarters feared archaeologist!

His had whisked down to his belt. Lifting his bullwhip loose he flipped it back behind him. There wasn't much room but he'd been used to performing this manoeuvre in much tighter quarters. In a blink of an eye his lashed his arm forward, the whip straight and true. It travelled at tremendous speed, reaching the end of its length in less than a second with a loud crack as it hit a wooden sign hanging on the wall which read, "Serpent Mound Visitors Centre." The sign shattered on impact sending the class back into a stunned silence.

Indy dragged his whip back towards him, looping it around his wrist as he did so.

"Sorry about that. I…err…I only meant to knock it off the wall." Indy said to the Janitor which had let them in. The Janitor gulped. "We…we needed a new sign anyway!"

The Janitor picked up the pieces of the sign, glancing at Indy nervously as he did so.

"Add it to the tab will you?"

"Yeah yeah, sure!" said the Janitor over his shoulder as he briskly left the room. It seemed he was in a hurry to get somewhere.

"That…was so cool!" gasped Jeff Cohen.

Jeff was one of Indy's chubbier students (some of the students called him chunk) but he had a good heart and a passion for archaeology. All the students here had a passion for archaeology otherwise they wouldn't have been here. The war had had an impact on everyone's pockets so there wasn't much in the academic fund for field trips. This was the only one planned for this year. Anyone who wanted to come had to pay half towards their fees so it was no surprise that only eight out of his class could afford the trip.

Indy was keen to get the next generation of archaeologist interested in field study. That was why he'd agreed to lead this field trip and that was why he'd reluctantly agreed to show them, after a lot of badgering, the clothes and gear he usually equips when he goes out into the field. He felt overdressed for this trip though, he was used to more exotic locations than Ohio; another downside to a restrictive budget.

"Now that I have your undivided attention, can anyone tell me the first rule of going out into the field?"

"P. P. P…Preparation!" shouted Dean Sutter.

This brought a brief burst of giggles from the rest of the class. Unfortunately Dean Sutter had a speech impediment. The students here were better with him than most but with a surname that rhymed with stutter this provided far too much ammo for students just itching to pick on the guy who's different.

"And what is the first rule of preparing for a field trip?"

"Research sir!" replied Dawn Saunders with a husky voice.

Indy suspected Dawn had a crush on him. It was a situation he had faced many times in the past and although he still felt flattered, he was now getting to be of an age were he felt more uncomfortable than ever before dealing with a college student's admiring glances.

"Precisely, so what is Serpent Mound?"

Jeff's hand shot up. Indy motioned for him to speak.

Standing up, Jeff cleared his throat. "Serpent Mound is the largest serpent effigy known to this day. It stretches a quarter of a mile long, averages three feet in height and is in the shape of an uncoiling serpent. The mound was built on top of a remarkably unique cryptoexplosive structure that has caused the effigy to become misshapen through the years."

"Correct!"

Jeff sat down beaming, pleased with himself.

"And who built the mound?"

This time it was Dawn who volunteered.

"The Adena Culture sir."

"Incorrect!"

Dawn's face crumpled. Indy hadn't meant to be so short, but the sooner she realised he was only her teacher the better.

"We have evidence the Adena culture lived here yes, but there is also evidence of other Native American inhabitants. These include the Hopewell Culture the Fort Ancient culture and even legends of a previously undocumented race known as the Allegewi People."

Indy moved over to an overhead picture of Serpent Mound which hung on the wall. The mound itself was an artificial hill built with mud and rock then covered in grass.

At its base the mound had been shaped to appear like a triple coiled tail of a snake. For the next 700 feet the body of the snake wound back and forth until it reached the head, which was stretched out in a gentle curve, ending with open jaws around the east end of a lengthwise one hundred twenty foot hollow oval feature. It looked like the snake was devouring a giant egg!

"We never assume anything," Indy continued. "In archeology we gather evidence and publish theories, nothing more.

Indy pointed to the picture. "The head of the snake is aligned to the summer solstice sunset…"

"Which is today sir!" interrupted Jeff

"Which is today," continued Indy without turning away from the picture. "And the coils here align with the winter solstice sunrise. Although Serpent Mound is now a tourist attraction we have been given permission by this Historical Society of Ohio to spend the day excavating this site."

Indy silently thanked Marcus Brody for using his influence to help him arrange this trip. Not only had they been given free reign of this site for the day but he'd even arranged for trenches to be dug at the head and the tail ends of the site so the students wouldn't have to waste most of the day just digging.

Indy turned to face his students, placing both hands on his hips. "Ninety five percent of archaeology involves getting down on your hands and knees in dust and mud. Using brushes and tiny tools a patient archaeologist brings history back out into the sunlight one spec at a time. That's what we'll be doing today. I'll be splitting you up into two teams. One will excavate the tail and, the other the head. Any questions?"

Jeff hand shot up again.

Indy sighed. "Yes Jeff?"

"Sir, if that's all there is to field work then why do you carry a gun and a whip?"

Indy smiled.

"Because the other five percent of archaeology is really, really dangerous." Indy paced the room as he spoke.

"The rarest of antiquities the holiest of relics; these can only be found hidden in the deepest jungles, the darkest caves and the highest mountains. You'll not only have to be careful to avoid causing trouble with the local tribes but you'll be up against others in search of such objects; others who are motivated by greed or power and won't hesitate to kill anyone who gets in their way."

The class were mesmerized by Indy's words. While Indy described dangers beyond belief they could only see glory and adventure.

"Even after you've dealt with all these dangers, the artefact in question will usually be held deep inside some sort of complex filled with deadly…"

"Booby traps?" blurted out Jonothan Quan.

Jonothan was fascinated with Ancient Egyptian Pyramids, in particular the complicated booby traps the Egyptians invented to protect the treasure buried with their King's sarcophagus.

Jonothan always reminded Indy so much of his old side kick he couldn't help but laugh at his comment; it was exactly the sort of thing Short Round would have said.

"Yeah kid, booby traps."


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of the day saw Indy moving from group to group, monitoring their progress while providing insights into the different cultures that had occupied the site as well as those who had used it as a burial ground.

Indy knew the most they could hope to achieve was to find a few pieces of pottery fragments but that didn't matter. Every piece of history unearthed had the chance of shedding new light on the great mysteries of time. A small piece here could help solve a piece of the puzzle at another site half way across the world.

They made good progress and by the end of the day 'Team Tail' had discovered the top half of pentagonal flint knife. Congratulating them on their find Indy then instructed them to pack-up and head back to the Visitors Centre while he went to collect 'Team Head.'

The sun was low in the sky by the time he turned the now familiar bend to the snake's head but as soon as did he stopped his tracks. There was no sign of anyone! Team Head had comprised of Dawn, Dean, Jonothan and Jeff but somehow they had disappeared.

He ran over to the trench. Examining the ground Indy searched for tracks or any signs of a struggle. Some of the tools they had been using where still there. He shouted loudly in case they had wandered off nearby. There was no response. Indy looked around frantically. Where had they gone! There was no way they could have got around him as the layout of the land made that impossible without being seen,

Something caught the corner of his eye. Looking around he noticed a dark depression in the ground about twenty yards to the right in the shade of a large tree. At first he thought it was a trick of the fading light but as he approached Indy realised there was a large hole in the ground.

Running to the spot revealed it was not a natural hole. There was a set of stone steps leading down but it was too dark to see where they led. Indy shouted as loud as he could into the shadows but there was no reply.

He was gripped by indecision. The entrance was wide enough to accommodate a man of his size but he had no way of knowing for sure if his students were down there. If he went for help and they were in trouble he may be too late to rescue them. Glancing over at the orb shaped object the head of the snake mound appeared to be devouring Indy noted the sunlight moving across the face of the orb as the sun was setting. A low rumbling noise diverted his attention back. The grass and the shrubbery appeared to be inching their way at a snails pace over the entrance.

Indy knew he had to act fast. All doubts were removed as he swept into action. He quickly snapped several branches off the tree, noting that several had already been removed recently, then launched himself through the entrance before it closed. Indy crouched down a few steps below, ripping pieces of cloth from his shirt and pants as the last glimmer of daylight disappeared when the entrance sealed with a loud thud.

As he wrapped the cloth around the branches he surmised the stairway must have opened when the first ray of the summer solstice sunset had touched the orb.

Underneath the grass and the layers of soil there must have been a hidden stone slab that was set to open and close during this event.

In his head Indy could imagine what had happened. The slab opening, the students crowding around the entrance fascinated. Being young and foolish (like he was at that age he reminded himself) they no doubt had to go inside for a look. His main worry was if something had happened to them. The fact they couldn't hear him or couldn't respond to his shouts made Indy fear the worse.

In total darkness he wrapped a piece of cloth around the head of a branch; he then plucked a vial from his pouch and dripped its contents over the top. Using his lighter to ignite the cloth on one branch he held it up to get a look at his surroundings. The light from the torch only allowed him to see a few feet ahead, plus he noted it didn't flicker in any particular direction dashing his hopes of any nearby open exits or airways. The light only revealed several more steps leading downwards. Taking one last look around Indy took a deep breath.

"Here goes nothing."

He plunged down into the unknown.

Moments later Indy heard a low rumbling noise. Almost immediately there was a loud click, followed by more rumbling noises ahead.

Carefully he made his way forward. He was in a small tunnel. The walls were covered with densely packed clay that was smooth to the touch, as if they had only been completed days earlier. The steps were made up of a series of small cobble shaped stones sealed together with the same type of clay as the walls. Decades of experience made him scour the floor for pressure points and check the walls for signs of any nasty surprises.

A nearby scream, followed by shouts of "Help Sir Sir!" and "Doctor Jones! We're down here!" made Indy put caution to one side.

He ran down the last few steps, turned a corner. Ahead there was light which revealed several bobbing shadows heading towards him.

"Stay where you are" shouted Indy. "Don't move! I'll come to you."

Indy carefully made his way forward until he reached his wayward students who were in a state of panic. Dawn hugged him fiercely while the others tried to all talk at the same time. He'd exited the tunnel into a large corridor completely covered in what appeared to be smooth stone cobbles. Amazingly there was enough light to see clearly without his makeshift torch but no sign of any obvious light source. Indy didn't have any more time to investigate as four voices tried to speak at once.

"Calm down, one at a time!" said Indy as he extradited himself from Dawn's fierce grip.

Dean took a deep breath but Indy didn't have time for a stutter filled explanation.

"Not you, you!" said Indy pointing first to Dean then Jeff , "What happened?"

Jeff explained they were in the trench when they heard this rumbling sound. There investigation revealed the concealed entrance and they decided to have a quick look, then report back to Indy so they could arrange a proper investigation the next day.

Just as Indy had done they had used branches as makeshift torches walked down the steps. The intention was to only go forward until they spotted something but before they knew it a stone slab had closed behind them blocking there way back.

They had screamed, shouted and banged on the stone slab to no avail. As suddenly as it had closed it opened and that's when Dr Jones appeared.

"So let's get out of here while we still can" suggested Dawn.

"Sorry kid, the door's closed and I don't think it will be opening for a while."

Indy explained to the students his theory about the summer solstice sunset opening the entrance.

"We're trapped in here until next year?" gasped Jonothan.

"Surely the others will come looking for us? Said Dawn

"I doubt it," replied Indy. "This site's had visitors for hundreds of years and no-one had the faintest idea about these tunnels. Also I couldn't hear you at all outside so I think this place is pretty well soundproofed."

"Oh my god, oh my god are we going to die? Said Dawn with a touch of hysteria in her voice.

"D..d…d….die!" stuttered Dean.

"No-ones going to die" replied Indy. He silently hoped this was going to prove true. "I'm going to explore ahead, alone!"

The students started to protest but Indy interrupted. "No buts, it's too dangerous. I'll go ahead…"

Indy was interrupted as the stone slab door his students mentioned earlier closed abruptly. In a panic all four ran forward shouting loudly, hitting it with their bare hands to no avail pretty much as they had described it to him. He sighed and tried to remember he had been like that once. A long time ago...well maybe a little bit anyway, he certainly never made that much of a racket.

Indy shut himself off from the noise to concentrate on his surroundings. Where was the light coming from? Moving closer to the walls he examined the stones. Definitely not natural, these were man-made. They were round, smooth and almost identical to each other. Each had dozens of tiny holes which had a small luminous stone or jewel inserted. Indy had no idea what they were without closer examination however there was no way he was going to try to extract one in-case it triggered some sort of trap.

His investigation was cut short as he heard a clicking sound, followed by whirring noises which sound like they came from further down the corridor which stopped his student's ill-fated attempt to escape.


	3. Chapter 3

"What was that noise?" Asked Jeff. "I'm beginning to hate strange noises!"

Peering down the corridor Indy he saw a familiar shape on the wall.

"Stay here." He ordered before carefully making his way towards the object.

As he approached closer his initial thoughts had been correct. Incredibly it was an hour glass placed on the centre of the wall. Closer inspection revealed a wooden shaft from the back off the hourglass attached it to the wall. The glass contained dark red sand which was deep enough to half fill the lower half of the globe.

"What the…" began Indy but stopped short when more clicking noise emanated directly in front of him and the hourglass began to turn.

"No!" shouted Indy. He grabbed hold of the hour glass, grappling with all his strength to stop it from turning. He didn't know exactly what would happen when it turned but he knew from experience it was not going to be good.

It was no good the hourglass was still slowing turning over.

"Don't just stand there help me!" shouted Indy.

The students paused for a second then all surged forward at once. The stood two on each side of the hourglass with Indy in the centre. The turn speed slowed but didn't stop. Everyone grunted under the pressure as the turn reached around one hundred and ninety degrees which made the sand start to slide inevitably downwards. The first few grains dropped into the other globe.

"Push harder!" Shouted Jeff

"I am pushing as hard as I can!" said Jonothan, who was on the opposite side.

"P..P...P..Pull!" stuttered Dean who was next to Jeff.

"What are you talking about?" Sweat poured off Jeff's head and his eyes were squeezed shut.

Dawn looked over, they were both indeed pushing, countering each other out. "You can't both push you idiots." She gasped a lungful of air. "You're on opposite sides!"

Jeff was breathing hard. "You...pull then."

"No I'm pushing, you pull." replied Jonothon.

"No you..."

"Will someone" interrupted Indy, "Please decide who's.."

He didn't get to finish his sentence as he felt the pressure of the mechanism turning the hour glass increase.

"Wooha!" he exclaimed heaving with all his might while hoping they didn't break the glass. Somehow he thought that would be worse than if the turn was completed.

"It won't stop!" shouted Dawn

"I'm slip.!" gasped Dean.

He lost his grip fall back landing squarely on his behind with a grunt. The others efforts proved fruitless as the hourglass now effortlessly completed the three hundred and sixty degree turn ending with a loud clank.

"What now?" asked Dawn in between deep breaths.

"I told you to pull!" shouted Jonothan at Jeff.

"I was pushing, you should have pulled!"

Both started shouting at each other, speaking so fast at the same time it was impossible to understand what they were saying.

"Enough!" Indy held up his hand for silence and listened. Somewhere in the distance he could here the sounds of some ancient mechanisms clanking and whirring into action.

He examined the sand granules as they flowed downwards. Peering closer he counted in his head for several seconds while examining the amount of sand still lodged at the top. From his shirt pocket Indy took out a scratched gold watch with a bent casing. Flicking the lid open he watched as the seconds ticked by. He estimated they had twenty minutes. Twenty minutes before something really bad happened.

"Listen up!" said Indy. He flicked the watch lid shut and returned it to his pocket.

"You all follow me, single file. Step exactly where I step and don't touch anything!"

"But I thought you said…" started Dawn but Indy interrupted.

"I changed my mind, come on!"

With that Indy took the lead. Cautiously he made his way down the dimly lit corridor. Jonothan tried to ask a question but Indy made it very clear he wanted silence.

They reached the end of the corridor without incident. This lead to another corridor branching off to the left which looked identical to the one they had just traversed. As Indy lead on he marvelled at the ingenuity of the place they had discovered. These tunnels where not naturally formed, that in itself was obvious from the clay and stone lining the walls and floor.

It was a known fact that the Serpent Effigy mound was located on a plateau with a unique cryptoexplosion structure that contains faulted and folded bedrock. This was produced by a meteorite or a volcanic explosion. Everyone assumed the mound itself was artificial but this find indicated the crater went deeper then anyone assumed and at least some of the plateau itself was artificial to cover up these tunnels. Several documented excavations had been carried out over the past 100 years and yet there was never any evidence found to indicate that anything might be hidden nearby.

Indy scanned the walls again. Not only was he looking for traps but any signs of the people who had built these tunnels. There were no markings or design which would indicate any race of people. Indy did notice however is they were going downwards. The incline was only slight. No doubt lesser experienced travellers wouldn't notice but Indy had noted it from the moment he walked down the first corridor.

They reached the end of the second corridor. This time there was a turn to the right. Again it looked exactly the same as the other but something wasn't right. Indy paused.

"What is it?" asked Dawn.

Indy didn't reply straight away. There was something different about the light. It was flickering slightly. The corridor was roughly the same size, shape, built with the same materials, the walls were…..the walls!

"The walls!" exclaimed Indy.

At first glance everything appeared to be the same expect the walls were glistening slightly. Indy inspected more closely. He took off a glove, rubbing his hand on the bare stone they came away slightly wet. He rubbed his fingers together. The moisture had an oily texture. Glancing up he could see some of the stone was partially covered in a thin, greyish moss and tiny droplets of moisture was coursing down the wall. In the moss Indy could see tiny insects crawling to and fro. Amazingly these insects were as luminous as the tiny jewels embedded in the stones.

Indy searched his pockets for some loose change. Although he didn't have much in the way of notes these days' coins were not an issue. About his person he knew he had coins of several currencies and cultures. Producing one he flicked it ahead. It landed, rolled around several timed before falling on its side.

"What are you doing Dr Jones?" asked Jonothan.

Indy flicked another coin further ahead, it landed without incident. "How do you maintain a trap for hundreds if not thousands of years?" he asked. Even now in the current situation Indy couldn't complete remove himself from his educational duties.

Jonothan thought for a few moments as Indy continued to probe further ahead with stones.

"To keep a mechanism in fully working order for long periods of times you have to provide a stable environment away from sunlight and high levels of oxygen."

"And?" prompted Indy who was beginning to think the trap wasn't going to be sprung by a pressure pad or movement.

"And….errr. Oh yeah! The Ancient Egyptians found the best method to keep the mechanisms in working order and as a further deterrent from would-be tomb raiders was to establish an isolated but fully functional ecosystem!"

Indy stood up looking a little confused. "Exactly! The walls are covered in a thin oily substance produced by some fungus and the creatures that inhabit them. Behind these walls there's probably a lot more. This will keep oxygen levels low and provide enough lubrication to keep corrosion at a bare minimum."

"So there is a trap somewhere in this corridor?" said Dawn with a tremble in her voice.

"Yeah, only I can't seem to figure out…"

Indy was interrupted as a long thin object hurled out of the wall from his right only a few feet ahead. Instinctively he leapt back as the object stopped in mid air a few inches from the left hand wall. Dawn screamed. Indy had enough time to note it was a spear which ended with a small triangular arrow point and seemed to be made completely out of bone before it slid back into the wall.


	4. Chapter 4

Almost immediately another spear shot out a bit further than the first, paused, the retracted back in. This continued all the way down the corridor and then started again from the first spear.

"There a pattern." Indy muttered to himself before turning to his frightened looking students.

"Look, you'll be OK. Just move where I tell you, when I tell you, understand?"

They all shook their heads simultaneously. Indy sighed.

"OK Listen, I'll go first. Dean, Dawn you two next. Stand next to each other, yeah like that. Now put your arms around each other's waist. Yes, good! Jonothan, Jeff you two pair up behind them."

Indy faced the down the corridor. The first spear shot out of the wall, paused for a couple of seconds then slammed back. Indy stepped forward and stopped a few inches before the second spear as it whooshed out of the wall. Indy repeated this as soon as the spear retracted.

Indy stopped. The spears continued their deadly dance down the corridor. Turning he beckoned to the first two. "Walk forward until I tell you to stop."

Whimpering they shuffled forward.

"Stop!" Indy ordered.

They stopped dead. Behind them the first spear shot out causing them to both scream simultaneously. A few seconds later the second spear appeared in front of them, closely followed by the one around Indy's position.

As soon as it was clear Indy moved forward again this time making sure the boys followed and placing them all in separate safe spots before the deadly spears returned.

A rumbling noise behind made Indy stop in his tracks. Turning he saw a stone slab slowly rolling across the archway where they had entered the corridor. There was no going back. What made matters worse was the speed of the spears was increasing slightly. Indy calculated if they didn't hurry up and the increase continued it would be impossible to get past them in time.

"OK, listen up!" Indy had to shout over the roar of the mechanisms responsible for the deadly trap. "As soon as I move, you two behind me move to the exact spot I was standing in. Jonothan, Jeff as soon as the girls move you move as fast as you can into the exact spot they were just standing in. The exact spot! Understand?"

Indy glanced back. His students nodded their heads. They were terrified but luckily not immobilised with fear. Indy had to hope they would be able to react in time.

The spear in front of him retracted. He stepped forward. As soon as the next space was clear he moved again. A quick glance back was enough to reassure himself the students had followed.

Readjusting his timing to make up for the increase in spear speed he stepped forward again. Four more repeats of this manoeuvre would see them to the end of the corridor. Indy was about to move forward again when Jonothan shouted out, "Dr Jones!"

Indy swung around just in time to see Jonothan pointing behind him as a spear shot out of the middle of the floor, retracting and then another one appeared a few yards ahead.

"Everyone, hug the wall!" Indy screamed and he leaped forward. Luckily his students reacted quickly as well and they just managed to lunge out of the way as the floor spears flew out of the ground where they had just been standing. They were running out of time!

"OK, just a few more to go, come on!"

Indy refocused on the spears from the side. Once the one in front of him had retracted he leaped forward while be careful to maintain his balance. The last thing he wanted was to slip and fall anywhere the spears from the floor. Repeating the manoeuvre he leaped into the exit. He turned back to tell Dawn and Dean when to rush forward but what he saw almost made him speechless. At the beginning of the corridor a pair of spears shots down from the roof covering both sides of the corridor. Seconds later, another set shot down a few feet ahead. Indy realised had moments to get these kids out of the corridor before they were skewered.

"Wait, wait, now!" Indy tried to sound calm.

Dawn and Dean rushed through the exit; straight after Jonothan and Jeff leaped to their friend's previous position.

Dean and Dawn collapsed on the ground sobbing. The pattern of spears plunging from the roof had almost reached the boys. Indy tried not to panic, he waited until the spears from the side directly in front had retracted then shouted, "NOW!"

Jeff leaped forward with Jonothan was a second behind him. Jeff made it through the doorway unscathed but a spear from the roof shot down just as Jonothan was running through the door. Indy grabbed hold of his arm, dragging him forward but the spear caught him on his back, slicing through his jacket like a knife through butter.

Indy and Jonothan fell to the floor but Indy was up like a shot. Fearing the worst he felt down Jonothan's back but sighed in relief when he discovered the spear had not pierced the skin.

The students laughed a little hysterically at their close encounter.

"Ha ha, ha ha! You were nearly noodles then Jonny boy!" said Jeff as he gave Jonothan a light slap on the back.

"Well at least I don't have monkey breath!" Countered Jonothon while smiling.

It was all playful banter, a way of coping with the hell they were going through but Indy knew they were not out of the woods yet.

"Calm down everyone, we've still got to get out of here."

As they got themselves together Indy was able to examine their new surroundings. They were still in another featureless corridor lined with luminous stones but this one was taller and wider. Indy reckoned they could easily fit three, maybe four abreast.

This made the possibility of a similar spear trap unlikely but Indy wasn't going to take any chances. He ordered them to follow him single file then cautiously moved forward.

There was no sign of any oily residue on these walls but there was a shadow on the floor further ahead. In their dimly lit surroundings it was hard to tell for sure what it was but Indy though it looked like a hole in the ground.

As they carefully made their way forward Indy's suspicions proved true. About four feet across the gap was easy to jump across as long as nothing nasty jumped out of it. Indy knew from his vast experience that some traps used distraction to take the unaware by surprise so although he kept the gap in mind this didn't stop him from treading carefully and looking for hidden traps.

A familiar grumbling noise from behind him made Indy pause for a moment. No doubt another stone slab was slowly blocking off their way back, not that Indy wanted to go back to the corridor of spears.

It was then something clicked in Indy's mind. He hadn't stepped on any tripwires, pressure points or touched anything that would set these events in motion. His students hadn't done anything either.

The image of the hourglass returned to his memory for a moment. Maybe this was not your run of the mill tomb with convention traps? Maybe this entire complex was based on time? The trap in each area would activate within a certain time perimeter, doors would open and close dictated by a careful orchestrated plan. By being his usual slow and careful self he'd inadvertently led his students directly into the spear trap.

Although he'd never come across anything as ingenuous as this in decades of archaeology it all made sense based on what they had encountered so far. If Indy's theory was correct whatever was going to happen in this corridor would happen soon!


	5. Chapter 5

"We need to jump across that gap now!"

"But…" started Dean in confusion.

"No questions!" replied Indy rushing forward.

He reached the gap just as the stone slab finished closing behind them with a loud clunk. It was indeed a gap around four feet across. Indy could not see more then a few feet down due to the darkness. He flicked a couple of coins down into the black depths. Not as a way of determining the depth but to see if anything untoward sprung out as a result.

Even though Indy could feel time was running out he knew he had to jump across first just in case they was something waiting for them either in the hole or on the other side.

"Right, same as before I'll go first you lot follow as quick as you can OK?"

Not waiting for their response Indy took a few steps back then ran towards the gap. As he placing his right foot down near the edge of the whole he felt the ground beneath he foot crumble and the almost lost his footing as he leapt forward. Indy flew through the air landing without incident on the other side. He spun around in horror.

The gap edges where crumbling away on both sides!

"Quickly, jump!" Indy shouted.

Dawn, Dean and Jonothan didn't need telling twice. The lunged forward clearing the gap with ease despite the rapidly crumbling edges. Only Jeff remained; terror had finally paralysed one of Indy's students at the worst possible moment.

Jeff was sweating profusely. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he shook his head from side to side. "No sir, I can't. I can't make it."

The gap was now nearly six feet across and getting wider. Indy had to inch his way back.

"Yes you can, there's still time!" pleaded Indy.

"Sir look at me I'll never make it!"

Indy knew Jeff was referring to his overweight condition but he was not going to lose one of his students.

"You three, get over to the end of the tunnel. If exit starts closing you go through!" ordered Indy as he unhooked his bullwhip from his belt. His students silently obeyed.

"Now listen to me" Indy said to Jeff. "You take hold of this, tie it around your arm and hold on tight to it OK?"

Indy flick his wrist, the whip flew across the gap, landing on floor near Jeff's feet.

"Oh…oh...oh my god!" whimpered Jeff as he tied the end to his writs. Indy tied his end to his wrist knowing all too well the whip wouldn't be long enough soon."

Now take a quick run and leap as far as you can! I'll pull you the rest of the way across."

Jeff looked terrified. "Look we haven't go time!" shouted Indy, "Do it Jeff, do it now!"

Jeff managed two steps back before the full length of the bullwhip was reached. Indy grabbed a sturdy penknife from one of his pockets. He flicked it open. The blade was about 5 inches long and made of solid steel.

Jeff took a deep breath, closed his eyes and lunged forward. At exactly the same time Indy wrapped the whip around his wrist. As Jeff jumped Indy stepped back pulling on the whip with all his strength.

Jeff flew through the air, his eyes still closed, his lips whispering,

"Please god, please god!"

He hit the other side of the gap chest high knocking the wind out of him. Indy dived to the floor plunging the blade face to him into a clay gap between two cobbles behind him as hard as he could. Moments later he arm screamed in agony as it was nearly wrenched out of its socket. He turned to face Jeff who was slipping over the crumbling ledge. Indy dug his feet into the ground. He tried to pull the whip towards him but it was all he could do to keep hold.

The only sign of Jeff now was his hand with the whip tied around it.

"Pull…yourself up!" gasped Indy

"I can't!" screamed Jeff

It was then that matters became much worse. Indy could feel the knife was bending. He couldn't afford to look back but in seconds the blade would either snap or bend until it reached a point where it would slip out.

"C'mon try!" pleaded Indy.

Jeff was dangling down over the deep chasm. A torrent of clay and cobbles sprayed his face and upper body. His arm was in agony plus he was still trying to recover his breath. Using blind instinct more than anything else he managed to swing the other arm up and over to clasp the whip. Now he had two hands around the whip which eased the pressure on his right hand but he still didn't have the strength the pull himself up any further.

Indy tried to dig his heals in deeper between the gaps in the stones. The only plan he had in his mind was to transfer his right hand to the whip as soon as he could and pray he could keep from slipping over the edge. One thing he wasn't prepared to do, was let go.

The blade suddenly snapped. Indy grabbed the whip with both hands grunting with effort. The extra strain on his feet was proving too much, he lost his grip with one boot and then the other.

Before he could slide to his death a pair of arms encircled both of his. He gasped in surprise. Looking up he saw Dean and Jonothan pulling with all their might.

"I thought I told you to…Ah never mind let's pull."

Indy regained his footing and pulled. Dawn ran forward. First she helped pull with the whip and then as Jeff crawled over the edge she helped pull him clear of the crumbling area.

They all collapsed on the floor but moments later Indy heard that awful rumbling sound from ahead and knew they didn't have time to rest. Getting them all to their feet he dragged them through the exit wondering what surprise awaited them next.

At first Indy could see little of what lay ahead. What little light flowed in from the corridor they had just left soon disappeared as the stone slab rolled to a close. There were no luminous stones here and Indy had lost the make-shift torches a while ago.

His students clung to him like a lifeline. At least one was sniffling, trying to hold back tears. Indy silently prayed that he hadn't led them to a dead end.

Using his lighter they inched forward. Within a few yards Indy could discern a slight curve ahead. Moving cautiously forward he noticed it was getting lighter; they were headed towards another light source or maybe, he hoped, the way out.

The curve became a sharp bend. Indy found he didn't need the lighter any more. As they turned the bend they immediately entered a huge oval shaped room. The whole party gasped in amazement, momentarily their fears laid aside as they examined their new surroundings. The walls contained the luminous stones but much, much more.

They were adorned with paintings, text, symbols and pictures using many different styles and colours. Indy gasped as he recognised, Akkadian, Sumerian, Atruscan, Kassitic markings plus several others he didn't know.

"That's not possible!"

Indy didn't realise he'd said that out loud until Dawn asked him what was not possible.

"The depictions on the wall, they are all mixed up. There's…there's so many different ancient languages represented here it isn't…it just isn't possible!"

Indy examined more of the fascinating languages of the past.

"Look here. " Indy said pointing to some symbols. "That's Ancient Greek, yet here directly underneath we have Meroitic! These languages are from civilisations thousands of miles and hundreds of years apart."

Indy turned to face his students. "It simple isn't…"

"Dr Jones."

Jonothan was the only one not glued to the wall. He was facing the other way, starring at something. Something in his voice made Indy stop what he was saying and look.

The wall they had faced when exiting the corridor wasn't the only wall in the room covered in ancient text. It appeared whole or the room was similarly adorned with numerous cultures' languages. This wasn't what had mesmerised Jonothan. What had was the tall, stone tree in the centre of the room.

"...possible." finished Indy mechanically.

"Oh my word," gasped Dawn. "What's a statue of a tree doing in here?"

Indy didn't reply. He was studying the tree, the attention to detail in the branches and the stone leaves were incredible. The top of the tree was mere inches away from the ceiling, while at the base, several stone roots gave the illusion that they carried on deep under the floor.

Dean repeated Dawn's question, bringing Indy out of his spell. "The tree is an ancient symbol. It's a major part of numerous cultural and religious belief systems. As this room contains such diverse languages it is not surprising that at the centre of all this is a tree."

He tried to sound matter of fact like but his mind was a flurry of questions.

"But what's it all for? What is all this here? Why all the traps?" said Jonothan, waving his arms around in exasperation.

"I don't know" replied Indy. "But we don't have time to find out."

Indy check his watch again. Around seventeen minutes had past. It seemed a lot longer.

"Let's find a way out of here."

Indy led his students around the room keeping close to the wall. Half way around he stopped. The slab in front was covered with various symbols like the rest but in the centre there was a clear panel with a hollow hexagonal indentation about the size of his hand.

Indy had seen many such indentations in his adventures to know it usually signified a specific same-shaped object was required. He knew if he placed the object in the indentation it would either lead the way out, unleash another trap or both!" Indy had to hope it was option number one and that the object wasn't hidden in a different location.

A low rumbling sound interrupted his thoughts. Quickly flipping open his watch confirmed his fears, the 20 minutes was up.


	6. Chapter 6

"Nobody move!"

"What is it?" asked Dawn.

Instead of standing still the students came close to Indy as if being next to him would offer more protection from whatever dangers would be unleashed.

A loud click made them all jump, followed by a scraping of stone against stone somewhere close by.

"There, by the b...b..base of the tree!" whispered Dean.

Next to the base of the statue a trapdoor was sliding open. Indy gasped as a moment later a monstrous snake's head writhed into view; it's tongue flicking out testing the air before it.

"Perfect, just pefect" Indy said to himself.

The snake's head briefly turned towards there direction. Indy noted two horn-like protrusions sticking out from the base of the snake's skull. This certainly wasn't any species of snake Indy had ever seen before. Ignoring them it switched focus to back to the tree statue, extracting its long, slinky body from the floor curling around first the base, then moving further up to the branches, wrapping itself around the whole statue. The snake was indeed unlike any existing species. Its body was impossibly long, longer than the biggest Boa Constrictor or King Cobra Indy had ever seen. Its skin was covered in purple and silver scales which glinted in the dim light.

As the snake coiled itself around more branches Indy noticed an Octagon shaped object inset in the trunk of the statue. Roughly six feet from the base, Indy estimated he would just be able to reach it, if of course there wasn't an extremely evil looking snake guarding the statue. This side had not been visible from the other side of the room they had emerged from plus Indy had been more focused on the symbols on the walls to notice it earlier.

This was of course, if he could get past the snake which seemed to regard the tree statue as it's territory and seemed in no mood to leave any time soon.

"We need to get that object from the tree." Indy said as he pointed out the octagonal shaped object.

"If we do we can place it here," Indy pointed to the indentation in the wall. "Which will open a way out of here."

"Are you sure?" asked Dawn

"Almost." replied Indy honestly.

"What about that Snake thing sir," Jeff was panicking again. "I'm afraid of snakes and that thing don't look like no snake I've ever seen!"

"It's not a snake," Indy said more to convince himself then anything else. "It's a serpent-lizard hybrid...thing"

Indy thought it was probably not far from the truth. Bred thousands of years ago specifically for this place by some mad cult no doubt. If he could think of it as something else he could probably quash the rising fear in his stomach.

"Shoot the snake Dr Jones, shoot it bang bang!" said Jonothan enthusiastically.

"Serpent-Lizard Hybrid." Corrected Indy, pointing at Jonothan and looking at him as if he had answered a simple question incorrectly.

"Anyway, the University would not allow me to enter a classroom with a loaded weapon. No bullets I'm afraid."

And I never thought a field trip to Utah would be dangerous, thought Indy.

He knew their best chance would be to try and distract the serpent-lizard hybrid long enough for him to grab the object. Maybe the writings on the walls had some clue as to how they should approach this problem.

"I want everyone to spread out, search the symbols on the walls. You all know at least one other language so search for anything familiar!"

"What are we looking for?" asked Jeff.

"Anything that can give us an idea of how to get out of here." replied Indy. He started examining the wall behind him. The rest of the students spread out, taking care not to go anywhere near the statue.

Indy was amazed at the ingenuity of this whole underground lair. His theory had been proven correct. If he'd have simply walked straight through the tunnels he'd have no doubt been out of the complex by now with the object safely away in his jacket before the first trap had been activated. Whoever had built this place knew any tomb raider would have progressed at a slow, methodical pace and therefore activate all the traps without fail. Indy imagined the tick-tock of a clock in his head. Had they activated all the time traps or was there more?

Whilst desperately searching for some clue he couldn't help but marvel at the sheer amount of cultural diversity captured on the walls of the room. In the centre was a statue of a tree which was already a very important symbol to a whole host of civilisations and their religions but the idea of a horned serpent in the tree was even more so.

Indy briefly wondered how had the hybrid species survived for so long? He imagined there must be a much more complex ecosystem behind the walls and under the floor than he'd previously believed. All in all this was the most intriguing find Indy had ever made. If only he and his students could survive to tell their tale.

"Sir! shouted Dawn. "There's a large snake symbol on this section over here!"

Ignoring Dawn's use of the S word, Indy hurried over. On the right hand side of the tablet there was indeed a crudely drawn snake. To the left of it there was one word written in Micmac.

"Chepichealm?" said Indy out loud.

"What?" Asked Dawn.

"Chepichealm. It says Chepichealm. It's a Micmac word meaning 'Immense Horned Serpent' or 'Wingless Dragon.'

"How does that help us?" wailed Jeff.

Indy thought hard. The word meant something, something he read about while preparing for this trip. Indy had not exaggerated when he told his students preparation was the most important aspect of any dig. Indy had spent a considerable amount of time studying the various Indian cultures that had used or lived near the Serpent Mound.

Suddenly he remembered the tale of the young warrior called Mikumwess whom sought to marry the Chief's daughter. The Chief had agreed as long as Mikumwess could prove himself by slaying the mighty Chepichealm.

"There's an ancient Indian tale of a Warrior defeating a mighty horned serpent." Indy told his students.

"It goes something like this, 'Now in the night he that was Mikumwess arose and went alone and afar until he came to the den of the dragon, and this was a great hole in the ground. And over this he laid a mighty log, and then began the magic dance around the den. So the serpent, or the great Chepichcealm, hearing the call, came forth, putting out his head after the manner of snakes, waving it all about in every way and looking round him. While doing this he rested his neck upon the log, when the Indian with a blow of his hatchet severed it."

"What does that mean?" asked Jonothan. "We don't have any logs, hatchets or a 'magic dance'. It's hopeless!"

"Not necessarily." Indy patted his pockets. "Does anyone have a whistle or something that can make a noise?"

"I have my harmonica." replied Jeff.

"Perfect, give it to me." Jeff looked puzzled but passed Indy his harmonica.

Without explaining his actions Indy moved closer to the statue while still maintaining a safe distance from the hybrid.

Indy blew on the harmonica. There was no response. He tried a different note. Again nothing.

"What the heck are you doing?" asked Dawn.

Indy ignored her and tried a different note. Suddenly the hybrid whipped around facing Indy. He backed slowly away.

"Perfect."

"What's perfect?" asked Dawn.

Indy pointed to the floor over at the right-hand side of the tree. "Dawn, Jeff, stand over there."

As they shuffled over to the position looking confused, Indy pointed to an area over at the left of the tree. "Jonothan, Dean, you two stand there."

Indy took a position directly in front of the tree.

"In the legend, Mikumwess performed a ceremony, this Magic Dance, to summon the great serpent. Although a legend we know for a fact that certain animals react not to dance but more to music or certain tones."

"Are you on about snake charming?" asked Dawn. Indy gave her a serious look. "Are you seriously going to suggest we try to charm this s...thing?"

Indy blew on the harmonica producing the same note as before. The hybrid reverted its attention squarely in his direction. "Yes we are. Now, Dawn, Jeff try to match the tone and pitch of this note." He blew on the harmonica again.

"What shall we sing?" asked Jeff.

"The words are not important, it's the sound. Try making generic noises like the Indians would do in their ceremonies. Like this.

Indy wasn't a gifted singer but he could sing along in the privacy of his own bathroom. Matching the tone of the harmonica he began to chant. "Humm-ay-yaa-haa-hum-ay-yaa ha." Over and over. The snake seemed fascinated.

"Now you!" Indy said indicating Dawn and Jeff.

"This is silly." Pointed out Jeff but they tried it anyway. It took a few attempts to get the tone of their voices matching but soon the snake lazily swayed its head in their direction.

"Dean, Jonothon, it's your turn."

They began chanting. Indy was amazed to discover Dean had an incredible voice! It was hard to imagine someone who had so much trouble talking could sing so beautifully. Within moments the hybrid was swaying from the left group to the right hypnotically. Now, thought Indy, came the tough part.

"I'm going to move slowly forward and get the key. No matter what happens do not stop chanting."

His students nodded. He noted the strain on their faces but he was immensely proud of them. They were going through an arduous ordeal and yet were carrying on courageously.

Indy took a slow step forward, then stopped to see if there was any change in the hybrid's pattern. Satisfied the serpent was suitably transfixed he slowly approached the tree with one hand resting firmly on his whip. Everything in his head told him to turn and flee from this beast as his old phobia's ugly head raised itself from within but he fought it back down. It was a Hybrid, only a hybrid, not a true snake. Just like he had when they had discovered the Arc of the Covenant he would force himself to face his fears and get through this ordeal.

Indy reached the tree, his hat several inches away from the hybrid's weaving head. Slowly, he reached up with his free hand and touched the object lightly. Delicately he felt around the edges before taking a firm grip. He held his breath, counted to three in his head and pulled. The object came free. Indy crouched down, closing his eyes hoping nothing would be triggered by his actions. He was wrong.

All the traps so far had been on a timer. That timer had been reached some time ago culminating in the release of the 'serpent'. Just to make life even harder for tomb robbers the designers had left one which was activated the old fashioned way.

There was a loud click from somewhere deep under the floor. Indy groaned. In his heart he knew this wasn't going to be this easy but he couldn't see any other way to try and get out of this place.

His students chanting faltered causing the hybrid to break its pattern. Indy made frantic gestures at them to continue, recovering their composure they quickly complied. Indy stood, slowly backing away from the hybrid. On his third step he stopped. Looking down he noted with growing concern that the floor was wet. A thin trickle of water was flowing across the ground. Indy looked around, he couldn't identify where the water was coming from but it soon became apparent they were in serious trouble as the trickle became a stream which had already risen above his shoes.

His students continued to sing but they too had noted the water and were staring at the floor with a mixture of confusion and fear etched on their faces.

Indy suddenly remembered the Serpent Mound itself was right next to Bush Creek River. It wouldn't take much for the designers of this place to hook up a flood passage and trigger it as soon as the object was removed. No not for the geniuses who had built this place. Indy knew he had to get them all out, and fast!


	7. Chapter 7

"Everyone listen carefully. When I play on the harmonica I'll take over charming the hybrid, you guys make your way over to the doorway but don't make any sudden moves."

The water was rising rapidly. It was already up to his knees so Indy didn't have any more time to explain and simply blew on the harmonica. His students stopped and the hybrid focused on Indy.

Dean and Jonothon, being closest to the wall with the indentation got there with ease but just as Dawn got out of arms reach of Indy she lost her footing, went briefly under the surging water then game up gasping. The hybrid's head snapped to the left, its tongue flickering out menacingly. Indy tried to get its attention back with the music but the snake had prey on its mind as it slithered slowly down the tree and into the water which was now nearing Indy's waist.

"GO!" shouted Indy.

Dawn didn't need telling twice and she half ran half swam towards the doorway even though it wouldn't make much difference as there was no-where else to go.

Indy surged towards the tree while keeping an eye on the hybrid as it slid gracefully in the water towards Dawn.

The serpents head was only a couple of feet away from Dawn when it rose up, ready to strike. With all the years of experience and the hours of relentless practice Indy flicked the whip powerfully towards its head, lassoing it around the neck perfectly.

It lunged forward as Indy pulled backwards with his arm encircling one of the tree's branches for support.

Denied its kill the serpent whisked around searching for the cause of its fury.

"Oooh boy!" whispered Indy as it surged towards him.

Indy pulled himself out of the water, onto a branch and climbed up to the next branch gripping his whip tightly. He was as high as he could go now and the snake began slithering up the lower branches Indy tied the handle of the whip as tightly as he could around the base of the branch then leaped into the water a second before the hybrid's fanged mouth napped at the space previously occupied by his legs.

The hybrid lunged off the tree in an attempt to follow but was yanked unceremoniously back as it found itself tangled around the tree branch by Indy's whip.

Indy plunged into freezing cold water. For a few seconds he was completely disorientated until his head broke the surface and he could see his students treading water near the doorway. He swam over noticing the water level was only a couple of feet away from the roof. It was already over the octagonal hole in the wall.

"I'm going under to place this in the hole." Indy explained. "As soon as I do look for an opening or any way out!"

Without waiting for a response he took a deep breath and dived back into the cold blackness, the stones providing little illumination in the dark water. As he went down he scraped the wall with his fingers until he found the indentation. Pulling the object from his pouch he pushed it against the indentation, turning and adjusting its position. Just when he thought it would never fit in it suddenly slotted into place. Nothing happened. Indy began to panic as began to feel the inevitable urge to breath. In desperation he pushed against the wall; it moved slightly!

He pushed again, feeling it give way. Instead of sliding open like the other stone slabs this one acted more like a conventional door which he was able to push open. Almost immediately some sort of current pulled at him, sucking him through the exit. He turned head over heal, dangerously close to gasping for air. As he flipped over he hit something hard involuntary causing him to expel the last of his held breath.

Scrambling around Indy realised he had hit some stone steps so he pulled himself forward, got a foothold on a stair and headed in what he hoped was in an upward direction. He couldn't hold off breathing any longer. As instinct threatened to take over he finally broke the surface gasping and coughing. Rather than allow himself time to recover he looked around for his students.

"Dr Jones! Dr Jones, up here!"

Indy looked further up the stairs. Jonothan stood a few steps further up and thankfully he was with others; although a sorrier looking bunch of drowned rats he had never seen. The water continued to rise so Indy urged them to continue upwards towards a faint light source which Indy hoped was finally an exit. It proved to be so.

They emerged from a similar opening to the one they had entered just over half an hour ago. It seemed like they had been down there for hours but outside it was the twilight hour, the time between sunset and night.

The group collapsed on the ground a few feet away. As Indy recovered his senses he checked his surroundings. They were near the tail end of the Serpent Mound just as Indy expected. Opening the inner door must have activated the hidden one and luckily for them they didn't have to wait for the Winter Solstice before they could escape. There was no sign of the other students. Either they were back at the Tourist Information centre or desperately searching for them at the Serpent's head.

Indy stood shakily to his feet. Dawn and Jeff where already up, peering down the stairs.

"Sir! Come here quickly!"

With a groan Indy went to see what Jeff was so exited about. Jeff grabbed his arm and pointed down the stairs.

"Down there, I think I can see the snake swimming around!"

Indy peered into the gloom.

"I told you it's not a..."

It was badly lit but it appeared the water was receding. Indy frowned, there was indeed something moving down there. Without warning Indy told them all to stay where they were then he plunged back down the stairs.

"What the heck is he doing?" asked Jeff

Jonothan shrugged. Dr Jones had done some crazy things since they had become trapped but he'd saved their lives several times so he was almost sure Dr Jones knew what he was doing.

They waited. All of them strained to see something or hear anything but all they could hear was the rush of water. Even this became fainter over time. All of this changed when the opening started to slowly close with a now familiar grumbling sound. They started screaming, shouting for their teaching to get out. Indy appeared as the slab was half way across the floor. Running up the steps he had to turn sideways to fit through the gap but managed to do so with seconds to spare.

They all hugged Indy fiercely who managed to look suitably embarrassed.

"Why did you go back in Dr Jones?"

"Yeah Sir, did you go back down there?"

To answer all their questions Indy held up his bullwhip.

"I told you it wasn't a snake."

Out of his pouch he pulled out the octagonal object.

"Besides, I had to go back to get this!"

There was a moment of stunned silence which was broken by Jonothan.

"You crazy Dr Jones!"

If this had been his old side kick an outburst like that would have started an argument which would quickly have switched to frantic Mandarin. Instead, partly from the memories and partly from relief of rescuing his students Indy burst out laughing. The students stood in shock but soon the laughter became infectious and they too began to laugh until all five were on the ground laughing. Indy started to plead with them to stop as his sides were hurting. This made them laugh even more.


	8. Chapter 8

A week later Indy had faced the music and somehow come out unscathed. The Board of Directors had been furious of course, as had the parents of the students.

However no one had been hurt and no-one could see how Indy could have done anything differently; the fact that a major archaeological find had been made helped to smooth things out. Even now a major dig was being organised to try and unearth this hidden lair in a safe and methodical fashion.

Indy failed to mention the octagonal bronze disc. He kept this hidden, fearing this would disappear into the archives if he allowed it to become known. He wanted time to study the symbols on the disc to see if they explained the reason for such an elaborate place to hide it.

He made his student promise to keep this part of their adventure a secret. In return when he found out anything he'd let them know. That was why he was here reunited with them in his Father's study.

Henry Jones Senior was much better at ancient languages than Indy so it was obvious he should hand the disc over to him for study, even if he did so begrudgingly. His Father had snatched it up straight away with a gleam in his eye Indy had not seen since he began searching for the Holy Grail.

An hour earlier Dad had telephoned saying he had news but did not offer any further explanation; so as promised Indy invited the four students over. They sat on wooden chairs next to a large brown antique table but Indy preferred to stand.

"You were right Junior." Indy inwardly groaned at his Father's continued use of the title Junior.

Not only because he was saying it but because he was saying it in front of his students. "This is indeed a major find!"

Henry Jones Senior produced the bronze disc. Since they had all last seen it the disc had been cleaned up and shone brightly as Henry held it near the candle light.

"The markings on this side contain symbols which represent numbers. Each number is from a different ancient number system."

Henry pointed to the first symbol.

"This one is from the Mayan number system, but the next is from the Egyptian system, the next from the Greek's, the Babylonian's and so forth."

"Why put numbers on the disc?" Asked Jeff.

"And why in so many different languages!" Asked Dawn.

"Why indeed!" said Henry looking directly at Indy. "These are bright ones, are you sure you taught them yourself?"

Indy tried hard not to retort. Instead he answered the initial question.

"To make it harder to work out what they are for."

Henry grunted in acknowledgement. "And the numbers…?" he prompted.

Indy thought for a second and then he had it, "Co-ordinates!"

"Yes!" Henry pulled out a worn, tattered scroll from a pile of documents piled on a chair. He unfolded it, placing it on the table in front of them.

"This is a map of the ancient world, one of the earliest maps ever to exist in this much detail."

The world looked very much different to modern maps. Whole continents were in different places, some didn't exist as they hadn't yet split from their counterparts.

"Now," continued Henry, "We must remember in ancient times the Earth was the centre of the universe and the Sun revolved around us of course! So, all these co-ordinates are based on galactic centre from the Sun on galactic plane in relation to the stars."

Jonothan, Jeff and Dawn nodded in agreement even though they didn't have a clue what their Professor's Father was talking about. Dean just looked confused.

"So bearing that in mind the first set of co-ordinates lead to here. "

Henry pointed to a part of the world which was roughly were the Middle East would be today. There was a word scribbled in a language they could not read.

"It says Mesopatnia" explained Indy. "Which is today known as…"

"Iraq!" blurted out Jonothan.

"Yes Jonothan Iraq, very good." Henry placed another old scroll on top showing Mesopatonia in greater detail.

"And the second set of co-ordinates lead here."

Henry point to a spot a few kilometres away from the centre of the map. There was no distinguishing markings. As far as the map was concerned this was just desert.

"So what's there?" asked Indy.

Henry flipped over the disc.

"This side contains words. Again each letter is in a different ancient dialect but roughly translated it means, "Here lies the key to the Valley of Edin."

Indy gasped. Henry looked extremely pleased with himself.

"Are you sure?" asked Indy

"Of course I'm sure!" replied Henry sharply.

Indy was shocked to the core. He was also exited, exhilarated. He hadn't felt like this in a long time. Looking to his Father he knew he felt the same way.

Jonothan put his hand in the air as if they were back in the classroom. "Err, excuse me Dr Joneses, but what is the Valley of Edin?"

It was Henry who answered. He leaned in close to the group, his eyes gleaming in delight.

"Why my dear boys and girl, it's where the Garden of Eden is of course!"

If the students had not been sat down they would have fallen over. As it was they were left in stunned silence as the two Joneses began to argue and bicker over supplies they will need, routes to take and of course, who was going to lead the expedition on their next amazing adventure.

The End


End file.
